They wanted to stop the elves from fighting by feeding them the drug that was mixed in their drink, but failed because of Ryner’s intervention. Just one of these women from the long-eared race was worth a small fortune, but was also extremely dangerous since they wielded powerful magic with a seemingly inexhaustible mana pool. Now, they failed to neutralize eight of them before a battle broke out.

Richard tried to close the distance and braved the fierce winds. As he leaned his body forward and covered his face with one hand, he slowly moved his feet towards the elven slave. However, he had more than one enemy to deal with. As such, more gales violently slammed into him from all sides, causing him to float a foot off the ground.

“Guuugh!” [Richard]

He gritted his teeth and endured the pain as the twisting wind currents continuously pummeled him. His flesh felt like it would be ripped off, his bones were creaking, his armor was fallen apart piece by piece and his sunglasses flew off.

Standing in front of him were two elves that were clad in wind and with one hand raised towards him. They were the jailors as well as the torturers that were keeping him immobile, afloat and in pain. Seeing his best bodyguard rendered helpless and being toyed with by overwhelming magic, Eli, who had seven guards standing in front of him, was slowly backing away.

“… Re, retreat.” [Eli]

He said while keeping his urge to madly run away in check. But, instead of running, he didn’t even have the chance to walk.

“““GAAAARGH!!””” [Guards]

His guards were all blown away like paper as wind currents crashed into them from the right side. The scene was as if they were hit by a car and all either laid on the ground, groaning in pain, or unconscious. The attack was perfectly controlled, leaving Eli stunned and with disordered hair, but unharmed. The merchant looked to his right and saw another cold-faced, elven woman a few meters away from him. Just like the two that were overwhelming Richard, she was clad in gusts of wind as if it were her armor and used it as her weapon.

Eli understood that if he tried to run, he would be blown away like a leaf, which was why he remained still. To save him from his predicament, some of his men that stayed near the caravan attacked the elf from afar, but both arrows and spells were deflected by the strong gales.

Furthermore, they themselves were being assaulted by two other elven women.

One of these golden blonde-haired elves had a ball of water that possessed a radius of about two meters floating atop her head. From the liquid sphere, countless streams of water protectively wrapped around the woman like a spiraling cage. When multiple fireballs were shot at her, the streams all released a compressed jet of water that cancelled out the attacks.

“““GYAAH!!””” [Guards]

At the same time, the sphere over her head fired bullets of water at any hostile all around her. A man in armor was hit in the chest and his armor plate was heavily dented as he fell and lost consciousness. Another one used his shield to block the liquid projectile only to get knocked back when his shield was punctured.

The second elf that was also on the offensive had multiple rocks floating all around her and rotating in circular paths. These flew at any attack or target like bullets, keeping the elven woman at the center safe. When a lance of stone was shot in a parabolic arc and headed for the green-eyed woman’s chest, it suddenly stopped right before the tip touched her. Then, it broke into pieces and joined the other floating rocks, effectively becoming part of her strength.

“Told you they weren’t for sale.” [Ryner]

As Eli helplessly watched his guards get decimated and his workers scream in fright, Ryner’s laidback voice sounded to his left side, which made his body jerk and grow stiff. At some point in time, the master of these monsters was standing right next to him.

The merchant’s sweaty hand reflexively went to the dagger that he kept in a sheath on his left breast. However, he couldn’t feel its familiar shape

“You know, walking around with an expensive-looking, ruby-incrusted dagger will get you robbed.” [Ryner]

He didn’t know when, but Ryner had actually stolen his weapon without him noticing. The sleepy-looking man casually held it to Eli’s throat, freezing him once more in shock and fear. The cold touch of steel to his skin cruelly told him of his precarious situation.

“When did you t-!? … No, that’s not important now.” [Eli]

The green-haired merchant did his best to feign calm, but his voice was trembling since he had his own dagger pressed against his throat.

“How are you still conscious? The sleeping drug should have knocked you out by now, and you swallowed enough for ten people.” [Eli]

“I don’t think knowing that is important now either.” [Ryner]

“Ryner.” [Elf]

Just as Ryner was about to slice Eli’s neck, the elven woman who blew away the merchant’s guards called out his name in a firm tone. One look at her face and he understood her intention. When he examined the situation around him, not a single death had occurred yet. Also, gazing from a safe distance was the elven maiden that was being protected by the two elves that hadn’t joined the fight. Held to her soft chest was Mi who was struggling to escape.

“Fine.” [Ryner]

Ryner agreed to her wish, since he wanted to stay on the elves’ good side for the moment, and gave back Eli’s dagger.

“Let’s talk business.” [Ryner]

He practically dragged the confused and pale-faced merchant with him towards the caravan where groaning and unconscious men laid on the ground. Those who could still move were shaking and fearfully hiding in the wagons. Then he grabbed an overturned barrel, set it upright and placed his hand inside. The sound of metallic items continuously hitting the bottom could be heard.

“What, are your intentions? Why didn’t you kill me?” [Eli]

“New deal. Obviously, you can’t win, and you’re all gonna die. So, if you keep quiet about us, we’ll let you go with a gift. Or, you talk, you try to fight us again, and we’ll kill you. How’s that sound?” [Ryner]

“… You mean to say you’re willing to spare us and will even buy our silence?” [Eli]

“Yeah. A merchant should know when to cut his losses.” [Ryner]

“… True, but…” [Eli]

Eli looked at the wooden barrel. He recognized the cascading noise of metal hitting metal and his hunch was soon proven right.

“You should also know when a good deal falls in your lap.” [Ryner]

Ryner pulled his hand out of the barrel and pushed it down. The round container fell on its side and spilled out all of the gold coins that suddenly appeared inside it.

“H, how…? It was empty just now…” [Eli]

Eli’s breath caught in his throat and his eyes that went round intently stared at the pile of glittering coins.

“Don’t you think you’ll make more of a profit dealing with me than fighting me?” [Ryner]

“… So either I die by your hands now, or live and have the chance to amass more riches?” [Eli]

Eli crouched down to grab one of the coins and carefully examined it. Then, he chuckled nervously.

“I don’t need to be a merchant to know what the most profitable choice is.” [Eli]

Afterwards, Ryner, Mi and the eight elves relocated to set up camp since Eli and his caravan needed some time to pick up their scattered possessions and treat the injured. For the good of the humans that were toyed with and the elves that didn’t like them much, the two sides parted ways.

“Are you sure about that?” [Ryner]

Sitting at a campfire and eating his meal, Ryner asked the elves that were all grouped up together on the other side as if wary of him.

“You showed him that it was better to let us go, both for his wealth and his life. Isn’t it fine?” [Elf]

“No, he’s one hell of a shady merchant. If he sees that chasing us down will be more profitable, he’ll go back on his word. Trust doesn’t seem to be a concern for him.” [Ryner]

“Ryner’s right. That human did try to drug us. Speaking of which, I was quite flustered when you drank those spiked drinks. How come his drug didn’t affect you?” [Elf]

“I increased my tolerance to all sorts of drugs and poisons a long time ago… Except for aphrodisiac… Because I was stupid and didn’t think it’d be a threat. I mean, who’d try to assassinate me with aphrodisiac?” [Ryner]

Ryner started grumbling to himself, causing the elves to stare at him inquisitively.

“But, more importantly, why’d you all go easy on those guys? You didn’t want to become criminals for murdering humans? It’s already too late for that.” [Ryner]

“It doesn’t matter if we’re wanted or not. Human rules don’t apply to us once we reach our home tomorrow. Frankly, I don’t plan on leaving its safety again.” [Elf]

“I agree.” [Elf]

“Me too.” [Elf]

“Travelling was a dumb idea.” [Elf]

“You guys might not mind, but I don’t want to be a wanted criminal in Stornith.” [Ryner]

“Maybe we could offer you refuge for a while?” [Elf]

“No, I meant I don’t want to destroy an empire over something like this.” [Ryner]

“… He is a scary man.” [Elf]

“… Yes.” [Elf]

“We might have received help from a human much more horrible than any we’ve met.” [Elf]

The group continued talking as they ate their meal. The elves commented on how useful Ryner’s ability to store away items was since it allowed them to travel light. Their dinner was also made not from dried meat and vegetables, but from fresh ones that weren’t spoil at all. They heartily dug in and enjoyed the first meal they have had since regaining their freedom. A few tears were shed from being moved at being able to eat without shackles and walls imprisoning them.

As they ate, the elven maiden kept gazing at Ryner. Her expression was a mix of curiosity, wariness and sorrow.

When the sun came down and darkness fell, everyone had turned in for the night. Ryner went inside the wagon with Mi. As for the elves, they wanted to gaze at the stars, so they refused to sleep in tents and instead accepted the sleeping bags that their benefactor provided.

They had all taken off the cumbersome collars around their necks that were also given to them by their human helper. It was meant to protect them from greedy humans by showing them that they already belonged to Ryner as his slaves so that they wouldn’t attempt to kidnap them. But, it didn’t do such a good job against Eli.

The elven maiden was staring at the starry sky from her warm sleeping bag. Her brethren surrounded her in a circle to protect her. Magic was used to create a barrier of wind that prevented them from feeling the night’s biting cold.

“You didn’t kill them for me, right?” [Elven maiden]

The girl said in her native language to no one in particular, but knew that all seven of the elves were still awake and heard her.

“Your Sense is powerful and hard to control, so we didn’t want you to feel the bloodshed and death as it happened.” [Elf]

As she expected, one of them answered her.

“Thank you, but I’m fine. I’ve gotten very good at controlling it. It only sometimes reacts by itself now, mostly to strong Pulses.” [Elven maiden]

“Strong Pulses like those from Ryner?” [Elf]

“… Yes.” [Elven maiden]

All seven of the elves stirred in their sleeping bags as they turned their gaze to the girl in the center.

“You still haven’t told us what you sensed back then.” [Elf]

“That’s…” [Elven maiden]

“Why do you wish to keep it a secret?” [Elf]

“I-it’s because…” [Elven maiden]

“Why did that man’s Pulse frightened and saddened you so?” [Elf]

“Why did you try to comfort him?” [Elf]

One by one, they bombarded her with the same questions that she never answered.

“Meirith, what did you sense?” [Elf]

“…” [Meirith]

The elven maiden, Meirith, stayed silent and thought back on her first meeting with Ryner in Jadistro. The moment her magic shackles were taken off, her Sense automatically detected that human’s Pulse. At that moment, a violent torrent of emotions assaulted her like a broken dam and threatened to drown her. As she weathered the relentless waves that beat down on her soul, images and sounds started forming in her mind.

And what she saw…

“Nothing.” [Meirith]

Meirith said to her inquisitive brethren. Her voice was steady, but all seven could feel the turmoil in her heart.

“I saw nothing that could be told to others.” [Meirith]

Meirith then turned her gaze to the wagon parked at a bit of a distance from them. Ryner was sleeping in there, but that wasn’t true. She knew that he wasn’t sleeping. He planned on staying awake the whole night.

Because out of everyone in their group, he was the one most wary of others.